Nigeria’s Minister of Education Professor Ruqayyatu Rufai has urged Nigerians to take a stand for the teacher in order to motivate them to give the best. “As Nigerians, we must take a stand for the teacher. As people in government, we must stand up for the teacher. I want to use this occasion to appeal to all Stakeholders in Education to take a stand for Nigerian Teachers in any way they can, it could be by motivation, training welfare packages for our hardworking and committed teachers”Prof Rufai said in an address to mark this year’s World Teachers Day
“Every other professional is a product of the teaching profession. The teacher is the producer of every other professional and it is the professionals who bring about development. The teacher is therefore the unseen hand in the development process. Without the teacher, there is no doctor, lawyer, engineer or any other professional. Yet the teaching profession, critical as it is in the life of the society, is lowly regarded in our country. Today nobody wants to be a teacher. Most people take to teaching as a last resort, when every other job opportunity has failed. This is not how it should be. No society can survive without teachers and human though cannot be advance without the teacher to develop the mind”,she said
According to Rufai,“The theme of this year’s World Teachers Day celebration is “Take a stand for Teachers”. This indeed is a well though-out theme especially in our country where the teacher is not given due recognition”
Read the full text of her address below:
AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, PROF. (MRS) RUQAYYATU AHMED RUFA’I, OON, ON THE MINISTERIAL PRESS BRIEFING FOR THE 2012 WORLD TEACHERS DAY, ON TUESDAY, 2ND, OCTOBER 2012, AT FME CONFERENCE ROOM 2ND FLOOR PODIUM
Protocol
Gentlemen of the press, I am delighted to welcome you to this briefing on the occasion of the 2012 World Teachers Day celebration. I felicitate with the Nigerian Teachers who, over the past decades, have been very committed to the teaching profession despite several challenges.
More importantly, I acknowledge the essential roles of teachers in providing relevant and appropriate education, which serves as the spring-board for training our children, young and adults in the society. As Henry Adams said, “a teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” It is therefore, necessary to honour and appreciate deserving teachers, who have excelled in their profession and reward them with the President’s Teachers and Schools Excellence Award.
The World Teachers’ Day is celebrated worldwide to eulogize the status of Teachers in our societies. In 1994, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), inaugurated the Teachers’ Day on the 5th of October to accord a special status of recognition for Teachers worldwide. As at now, over 100 countries including Nigeria observe this memorable day every year.
The Federal Ministry of Education acknowledges the efforts of governments at all tiers, the NUT, UNESCO and other Stakeholders in promoting the course of education. It is hoped that the current provisions and awards for teachers would serve as the platform for positive change in the welfare of teachers, teaching profession and the education sector in Nigeria.
Every other professional is a product of the teaching profession. The teacher is the producer of every other professional and it is the professionals who bring about development. The teacher is therefore the unseen hand in the development process. Without the teacher, there is no doctor, lawyer, engineer or any other professional. Yet the teaching profession, critical as it is in the life of the society, is lowly regarded in our country. Today nobody wants to be a teacher. Most people take to teaching as a last resort, when every other job opportunity has failed. This is not how it should be. No society can survive without teachers and human though cannot be advance without the teacher to develop the mind.
The theme of this year’s World Teachers Day celebration is “Take a stand for Teachers”. This indeed is a well though-out theme especially in our country where the teacher is not given due recognition. As Nigerians, we must take a stand for the teacher. As people in government, we must stand up for the teacher. I want to use this occasion to appeal to all Stakeholders in Education to take a stand for Nigerian Teachers in any way they can, it could be by motivation, training welfare packages for our hardworking and committed teachers.
I am pleased to note that many media organizations have realized the need to develop columns through which they have been able to provide a platform to hold extensive discussions on the education sector including the teaching profession. I am particularly delighted to note that a lot of I print media organizations now devote pages weekly for the continuous dialogue on education. Please continue the good work.
I therefore on behalf of Nigerians express sincere appreciation and gratitude to our Teachers and congratulate them generally on this auspicious occasion. I also wish to seize this opportunity to invite you all to the World Teachers Day celebration scheduled for 5th October, 2012. I hope you would provide extensive coverage for the event and give it wide reportage through news reports and feature articles.
The Federal Ministry of Education regards the media as an indispensable partner in our march to improve the nation’s educational standards. In our efforts to make teaching an honourable and
respectable profession, the media is the major channel through which we shall reach the Nigerian masses. While we strive to nurture this partnership, we also expect reciprocal action from the media.
Thank you and God bless.
